Spoilers for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor AheadStar Wars Jedi: Survivor is finally here, and it has not disappointed. The story is excellent, the locales are beautiful, the characters are as fun as ever, and the combat is exhilarating. It has improved upon pretty much every aspect of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but it seems to falter a bit when it comes to the final planet.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's entire narrative follows the hunt for a mysterious perfect High Republic world. Everyone seems to want to gain access to it, but when players finally do, there really is not much to it. While it will likely play a bigger role in the game's sequel, this iteration of Tanalorr is nothing more than set dressing.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Tanalorr is Nothing More Than a Boss Fight Room
Cal Kestis first learns of the existence of Tanalorr from the High Republic droid Zee. It is allegedly a perfect utopia hidden within the space anomaly. Cal wants to reach it, but first he has to find the key. This hunt leads him to Dagan Gera's Bacta Tank, and mayhem quickly ensues. The race to find Tanalorr begins and does not stop until Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's credits roll.
During Star Wars' High Republic era, Dagan Gera wanted to construct a new Jedi Temple on Tanalorr to train new initiates. However, the Nihil ended up attacking the planet forcing the Jedi to flee. After some drama, Dagan Gera was locked away in a Bacta Tank only to be reawakened by Cal Kestis centuries later. With the help of the Bedlam Raiders, Gera renews his quest to use Tanalorr to further his goals, and this time that includes amassing a massive army to cleanse the galaxy.
Cal Kestis wants to prevent this from occurring and wants to use Tanalorr to break free from the Empire. The planet is allegedly a utopia that the Empire cannot reach, which makes it the perfect hiding place for a fugitive Jedi. Throughout the story, he also comes to the realization that this planet could be used as a new base of operations for the Hidden Path - the perfect place to do some good away from the prying eyes of Darth Vader.
Cal Kestis' trusted friend Bode also wants to access Tanalorr, but for more selfish reasons. He ends up betraying Cal, stealing the compass, and escaping to Tanalorr with his daughter. He wants to build a safe life for her on this beautiful planet and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He even goes so far as to call the entire Empire down on Jedha and the Hidden Path.
Cal Kestis, Dagan Gera, and Bode all want to reach Tanalorr for their own personal reasons. This makes it seem like this planet will be important, and it is extremely exciting when players unlock it. However, the planet that Respawn crafted is far from the amazing utopia that was being described. Instead, Tanalorr is simply the setting for the final Jedi Survivor boss fight against Bode, and players have little reason to return after that.
Tanalorr's map is simply one straight line from the Mantis' landing pad to the boss fight room. BD-1 can scan a couple of things along the way, but there are no collectibles to really find nor puzzles to complete. Players will just head there for the final mission, fight Bode, and the story will end. There is not much more to it, and it is hard to see what all the fuss was about.
Tanalorr was supposed to be an expansive utopia that people were willing to kill for but Respawn only gave players a ridiculously small slice of it. While Respawn will likely expand upon it in the sequel, this version is far from what was promised. It ends the galactic exploration on a whimper when it should have ended on a high note.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S
